This invention relates generally to television stands and, in particular, mounting apparatus for flat panel displays.
The Flat Display Mounting Interface (FDMI), also known as VESA Mounting Interface Standard, is a family of standards defined by the Video Electronics Standards Association for mounting flat panel monitors, TVs, and other displays to stands or wall mounts. The mounting standard requires that the display have a rectangular pattern of four tapped holes, usually ISO size M6 or M8. Typical VESA mounting patterns for large flat panel displays (more than 31 inch diagonal) are square with a spacing of 200 mm×200 mm, 300 mm×300 mm up to 1000 mm×1000 mm in 100 mm increments.
Conventional floor stands for large flat panel displays typically comprise a vertical pole with a VESA adapter mounted to the pole. The VESA adapter consists of a rigid flat rectangular frame with holes cut to match a variety of VESA patterns together with a clamp or other mechanism to attach the VESA adapter to the pole. The adapter is attached to the display using four of the fixed holes in the adapter. The adapter is then attached to the pole at the appropriate height for the particular display and clamped or pined to the pole to hold it in place. This makes for a complicated and unnecessarily cumbersome mounting arrangement with many parts.